Maui Elementary Students to Benefit from Book Trust Donation

Saltchuk, a family owned company and the parent company of Aloha Air Cargo, Hawaiʻi Petroleum, ʻOhana Fuels, Minit Stop, Young Brothers, and Foss Hawaiʻi has pledged $10,000 to Book Trust in support of Maui elementary school students.

Book Trust uniquely delivers choice and ownership of books to children from low-income families, increasing their literacy skills and fostering life-long learning.

Book Trust operates in 18 states and serves 50,000 children, including nearly 5,000 students in Maui County.

During the 2016-2017 school year, Book Trust will empower students at 11 Title 1 schools in Hawaiʻi to select 2-3 books monthly and build a personal library of up to 30 books. This will bring Book Trust’s cumulative impact to over 1 million books in Hawaiʻi.

“This generous contribution from Saltchuk is so important to our Maui students and families,” said Book Trust Hawaiʻi Director, Shay Goodfellow. “Each year, thousands of children from low-income families in Hawaiʻi start school without ever having owned a book. In areas of poverty, the ratio of books to children is just one book for every 300 children. By partnering with companies like Saltchuk, Book Trust is changing that. We want every child to have an opportunity to fall in love with reading and have access to a brighter future.”

Saltchuk’s gift will ensure Book Trust continues to uniquely offer choice and ownership of books to young students.

“Literacy is the foundation of learning, and if we can help promote literacy and learning among children, we know we are doing something to help improve an entire community. Through this donation to Book Trust, 100 children will have the opportunity to select and own roughly 3,000 books over the course of the school year,” stated Saltchuk Regional Giving Committee member Kimo Haynes, President of Hawaiʻi Petroleum.